


Migration

by imnotanironwall



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adventure, mute Fukunaga Shouhei, the borrowers au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-07-18 17:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16122941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotanironwall/pseuds/imnotanironwall
Summary: Migrationnoun | /mʌɪˈɡreɪʃ(ə)n/Movement by people from one place to another with the intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily in a new location.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my gift to Fukunaga, for his birthday on 29th September (& it's already his birthday in Japan, at the moment I'm writing this)! I've been meaning to write this AU for quite a long time now, so I hope you will enjoy this short story.

Independence was what every child wished for at some point in life. And it was what had driven Shouhei out of his safe and comfortable family nest, in quest of a new place to call home. It had been a dream of his for so long, to take his backpack and walk out of the basement of the gigantic but old house he had always lived under. Not that the humans living there were upsetting and unpredictable, the old ones always loved a good routine, but life had become quite dull.

Shouhei loved his family, of course, but they lived so far away from civilization, from anyone else like _them_. As a kid, he had an entire garden to explore to pass the time. He learned how to hide, how to build and explore new passages in a house, how to fight unwanted visitors, how to borrow. He never really had time to think about how lonely he was. But eventually, he grew up and became a proper adult, and finally saw how lonely it was out there, despite the beauty of the wild.

 

Goodbyes had been difficult. Not only because there was a high possibility he would never saw his parents again, but also because, like the traditional family they always claimed to be, his parents pestered him into agreeing to settle down into a nice cozy house and have a family on his own - which was probably one of his greatest lies, as he had no interest in actively searching for a partner or in living into a human house. In the end, he almost felt relieved when he eventually left, the familial pressure off his shoulders.

 

The hardest part of traveling alone, outside of loneliness and the pain in his legs, was the joy of weather. He had left on a sunny day, he wasn’t a fool. However, the sky had quickly changed from clear blue to cloudy gray after a week or so. The rain followed shortly after and his shoes sunk deep into the mud, to the point he had to walk out of the road barefoot. Adieu, white socks.

He wasn’t fond of the rain, oh he was not. And the leaf he had taken as his umbrella was rapidly bending under the weight of the drops. Finding shelter was his best option, traveling on foot would have to be postponed.

It took him a few minutes to find a decent enough hole in one of the trees on the sidewalk. He had to make sure it wasn’t too big to be the home of a possible predator, who would surely come back quickly thanks to that downpour, but he still needed to fit in and be comfortable for a night or two, at least until his clothes dried. It also needed to be close enough to the ground, so birds wouldn’t think he was food, but high enough to prevent rodents from snacking on him.

Shouhei immediately fell on his butt once he found the perfect hole for the night. The sky was growing darker and darker, but it wasn’t the time to rest yet. He needed to make sure he was safe, especially from wondering humans - the greatest predator out there. So, not without a sigh, he gathered his strength and climbed up the tree to fetch a big enough leaf to cover the hole opening, as well as some relatively dried branches. He pinned the leaf to the tree with some pine resin - good enough to hold it for the night and shelter Shouhei from the cold wind - and started a fire after putting the small branches on a stone he had pulled up with the cord he always carried with him.

When everything was finally settled, he heavily sighed. He had been wise to train for awhile around the family nest before he actually left. He would have been dead cold on the sidewalk, or completely lost by now if he hadn’t picked up some survival skills. Talking of survival, he needed to find something to eat soon. The rations in his backpack were fewer and fewer each day and he was almost out.

He had a few options to survive as of now: either he suddenly became a pro at hunting bugs and rodents, which were greatly available in this spring end-like weather, but also had to think about the waste and the weight of the meat on his back, as well as the materials needed to make a proper weapon; or he could wander around for a bush or a tree with fruits he could dry under the sun and would be far better for both his back and his stomach but with the probability either the sun decided to stay hidden or that he could not find any fruit. Also, the biscuits in his bag were already far too hard to be considered an acceptable food, so he had to make choices now.

Shouhei sighed again. Well, he couldn’t do anything for the time being, with the rain pouring outside and the cold wind of the evening. Sleeping was the best thing he could do, it was absurd to go out sleep-deprived - that was definitely the best way to be reckless and end up seen. He curled up in the humid small blanket he had taken with him before the fire and closed his eyes, tomorrow would be better.

 

* * *

 

 

Tomorrow wasn’t better. The weather had been way worse all night, the crackling of thunder and the rough wind of a storm making its way to Shouhei’s ears. His fire had quickly died down and the clothes he had hung the night before were still soaking wet when he woke up. If he was just a little weaker-minded, he would turn on his heels and walk back to the family nest. Definitely. But he wouldn’t - maybe he was being stubborn and would end up dying from starvation, or from the cold, but he was sure everything would be worth it eventually.

The day wasn’t going to be one of his best. However, he couldn’t stay in the same spot another night. Something might find this temporary shelter if he stayed and he didn’t have anything but a knife to protect himself - a sharpened lost tooth from the old humans’ cat at his previous place, better than nothing obviously. He gathered his things and put on his wet clothes - they would end up soaked again anyway - and jumped out of his little hole, landing with a quiet _huff_.

He took a few seconds to think about his present situation. Walking wouldn’t do him good, he would probably sink into the mud for good, and he wouldn't even go that far. Instead, going through the trees seemed like an appealing idea to the young man and if he was lucky, a car would drive nearby and he could ride away from his troubles. So just like the previous day, he climbed the smallest tree he found; it was awfully slippery and the wind was so strong he almost flew away a few times, but he firmly hold his knife, embedded into the tree trunk, into his tiny hands until the wind calmed down again and he pursued his ascension.

After what felt like an hour, he finally reached the top of the tree and sat amongst the canopies as the storm slowly calmed down and the sun finally pierced through the thick clouds. He lied down on a branch and looked at the droplets falling between the leaves above him. He opened his mouth for a drink, he deserved it after such a climb. His muscles were all sore and it wasn’t even midday yet. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to walk or climb all the way to his destination - to where, even, he didn’t know yet; as far as the weather and his body would allow him, he supposed. He breathed in deeply before getting up. Right, he needed to move, who knew when the sky would cry again.

Shouhei looked around for something that could make it easier to climb into the next tree - he _definitely_ wasn’t going down and climbing the next one all over again. There was a bunch of ivy around he could use to swing himself from branch to branch, but as the rain was just letting down, everything was very slippery. Maybe he could use some rather large leaf to use as wings? But it was the first time he would really try it and he wasn’t so fond of becoming a crepe on the ground (though he would probably look more like a crushed berry to a human size individual).

Finally, he decided safety was more important first. He tied ivy around his waist, one long enough he could reach the next tree, but not reach the ground in case he slipped - in any way, it would still hurt if he missed. Then, he put large leaves on either side of him, going from his hands to his feet; he assumed he looked like those flying squirrels now, it would totally pass if he was seen.

He took a deep breath before running along the highest branch of the tree, and once he reached the end, he jumped as far as he could towards the branch the nearest to him in the next tree, his arms extended to plane there. His eyes were fixated on his goal, _looking under him would be his end, definitely_ , he thought. And to his surprise, his flight was going rather well! He could visualize exactly where he would land and had the time to prepare without crashing- until the wind picked up behind him.

However, he rejoiced too early. Not long after, Shouhei felt one of his wing shook against his side until it flew away with the first rush of wind, leaving him plummeting towards the ground oh so quickly. His bag was pulling him towards the ground - he was so close to dropping it to avoid the inevitable collision with tree trunk once the ivy tightened up. But he didn’t need to think much about it as he suddenly was back in the air, going up and up and up. And _then_ , the ivy finally did its job.

Air left his lungs when the plant tightened around his middle section, but he was still pulled up above the tree canopies, strangely. He lifted his head, sweats dripping along his cheeks when fear took the best part of him. He wasn’t usually afraid of birds, he could deal with them, but not when he was _already_ in their claws, ready to become their breakfast the moment his life-saving cord would break. That crow was also way too big, it must be eating preys twice Shouhei’s size usually.

But it wasn’t the right moment to think about what its usual meal looked like; right now, the ivy was ready to break under the stubbornness of the bird - or it would break the boy in half, but in both cases, Shouhei was screwed. He needed to act soon, _now_.

He fidgeted, reaching in his bag, until he could feel his knife in his hand, and once it was strongly clutched between his fingers, he turned to the bird’s claws around his bag and stabbed them quickly with his weapon. Oh.

Not only did it barely wounded the predator, but it also managed to anger it even more. A large dark beak appeared before Shouhei eyes and cackled at him. The sound was deafening at this proximity and all he could do was wince and grip his knife even more strongly. A wonderful idea, it seemed, as the crow cawed louder in his ears. Meanwhile, the ivy was doing its best to hold Shouhei, the strength of the crow overwhelming.

And all at once, it broke.

It went all downhill from then on and it was going way too quickly for Shouhei to even register what was happening.

One second the crow was trying to pick his head off, the next, air swiftly filled Shouhei’s lungs. He felt the rush of wind against his face, then the pain of something grazing his cheek, right under his right eye. Blood got stuck in his eyelash and he started wiggling for his life. His hand caught something fluffy and dark, and as he pulled on it, an awful scream echoed in his head before there was nothing left but the blue sky above him, a black dot flying away from him.

A draught of cold air blowing past him made him shiver, the loud sound of rushing wind deafening. He did his best to put his blood-dripping knife back in his bag before he turned in mid-air and the ground was _too close, too fast_. There was a flash of red coming toward him, nearer and nearer.

That was all he saw, red, red, red, as he clutched the black feather in his tiny hands and prayed to the gods to spare his dear short life before he crashed into something with a squishing sound. And all he saw was red, red, red, all around him. He was drowning in it until his back hurt something solid and everything became black and void and quiet.

And he lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

There wasn’t any pain or gash or blood when Shouhei woke up. In fact, he was comfortably lying on something squishy and the heavy scent of fresh cherries was enveloping him. Since he had left home, he hadn't felt so at peace. 

However, he couldn’t just lay there for all of eternity. There was a lot of noise around him, laughter, chatters and so many more he couldn’t quite identify. That was when reality quicked in; he had left the countryside. How he had managed that, he would soon discover as he peeked his head out of his bed of fruits and found himself between metallic walls. Further, he could see what seemed like a car - or what he supposed it was, he had never gotten so close to one before - visibly moving between high towers scraping the sky. 

Shouhei inhaled sharply. He was in troubles. He had set foot in a city, the central point of activity of his greatest predator. And yeah, he had thought about investigating one eventually, even settle not far from one, but he hadn't actually tried to go to one. Until today, it seemed. 

The relief of being alive and safe - even though his white shirt was now bright red - was quickly cut off with a deep-seated fear. How was he going to get out of there? 

He sighed. It wasn’t really in his nature to give in to anxiety, he was more of a laid back kind of person and seeing the positivity in everything around him - he had quite changed lately, he wasn’t sure he was pleased with that realization. 

Though it wasn’t time to dwell on such things, he needed to get a move on or he would never get out of here. Worse, he could be seen by whoever was driving the car. Thus, he swam between the cherries and got out of the wood box they were stored in - he also took one small fruit with him for breakfast and left an old biscuit in its place; the humans would surely find a use to it and Shouhei loved exchanging a good for a good when it wasn't a potential threat to his life. 

After taking a bite off his newly found meal, and filling his stomach with fresh and delicious food, he studied his current position. From where he was, he could see the giant towers of the city drifting past him. A flow of people and other vehicles were crowding the streets and there was no easy way out of here, there was nowhere to hide. 

Or at least, that’s what he thought for a few moments. The car took a turn into a smaller street, the towers replaced with more familiar looking buildings - homes, though really modern ones compared to the countryside he grew up in. Rapidly, he saw a couple of trees in gardens, flowers along walls and piercing through concrete. Maybe he could find a place there to settle in for a couple of days, or even weeks depending on the schedule of the inhabitants. 

When the car slowed down, he hopped off the trailer and made a run for the nearest plant, which turned out to be a couple of tulips. He waited there, blending in with the bright color of the flowers, as he watched the car stop a few meters down the way.

A young looking man climbed out of it. He had long blonde hair attached in a ponytail and squinty eyes like a fox. Shouhei supposed he must be a very attractive person, and surely knew it by the way he held himself - maybe he was just that confident all the time, even when no one else was around. 

The man walked to an entrance gate and waited a couple of minutes before he eventually pushed the door open. It was large enough for a car to drive through, and it was exactly what happened in the following moments. 

Shouhei took this opportunity to dash for the door. There was no one else around at the moment and large walls lined the streets, protecting each property from intruders and unwelcome glances inside their home - it was his chance to enter without having to climb anything. And so he got inside just after the car.

As soon as he was inside the property, he jumped into the grass and sprinted to the nearest flowers he saw - he made it just in time before the door of the car opened again. This time, the man turned off the engine and took the content of the trailer: a box of cherries and a smaller one with bright orange fruits Shouhei hadn't notice; _it would have hurt way more had he fallen into them_ , he thought. 

Once the man had disappeared into the house, Shouhei allowed himself to relax. Now he could explore what seemed to be a gigantic garden. He could see several trees and hear the sound of running water, indicating the presence of a small pond or river nearby. The loud sounds of the city seemed to have almost disappeared - however they couldn’t be that far from it, he could still faintly hear the noise of cars and people. 

A few seconds to check his bag hadn't been too damaged by his rough landing or if he was injured - which he was not, except for that wound under his eye he got from the crow, - and he turned on his heels and began his discovery of the garden. He kept looking back at the house, ready to hide the moment that blonde man or anyone else decided they wanted to take a walk outside.

 

The garden was big, and Shouhei could see the owners were taking great care of it. It was full of life: birds chirping in their nest, fish swimming in the large pond, bugs curling around beautiful flowers and flying from tree to tree. It was astounding. If Shouhei had to settle somewhere, he wanted it to be there. He was sure he could find a somewhat reclusive space the owners had forgotten about and build a home there - even just temporarily. 

He was about to start looking when he heard a voice, so faint he almost didn't catch it. Then a louder one echoed nearby, and Shouhei immediately knew those weren’t humans, he had that feeling deep in his guts. Cautiously, he walked towards them. 

Sitting by the pond was a very small person, with dark hair falling around his face. He was eating a cherry, just like the ones Shouhei had tasted earlier. He nodded to the words of another small man, who was standing and moving his arms as he spoke. He had a bright blond mohawk and dark shaved hair on the side. His fingers were stained in red. 

“He said he found a biscuit in the basket,” the blonde man began, making a wide gesture toward the house along with his words. “and some cherries were crushed, I am sure another borrower got to them before us. And we were the ones who had to get them back home, so it has to be someone we don't know, Kenma!” 

The one named Kenma nodded once and took a small bite of the fruit in his hands. The other man kept talking for some time before eventually he too sat by the pond, his side pressed to his companion’s, and looked at the fish swirling in the water. 

Shouhei was about to get up and leave them, the moment getting too intimate for his prying eyes, when 'Kenma' lifted his head and his eyes locked with Shouhei's. The latter’s breath got caught in his throat and he muffled a small gasp. The man only smiled and looked back at the pond, before saying in a quiet voice “Hmm, I'm sure they will come to us if they want to, we do have room for a new friend.” 

Their conversation quickly drifted to another topic after that and Shouhei fell on his butt, out of breath; had he just been offered friendship and a roof by a complete stranger? One who had way too good eyes and had spotted him right away, nonetheless. 

He sighed, as quietly as possible, and smiled. Friends sounded _nice_. And a bed too, actually. Maybe he could follow them, once they left, or he could go talk to them; they seemed quite nice. 

Shouhei closed his eyes for a moment and nodded to himself. Yes, he had made the right choice by leaving his home. Even if that meant many hardships and more to come in the future, he is sure, but if he could make some friends, well, the future was a little brighter. 

**Author's Note:**

> I commissioned the wonderful kot to draw something for this AU, please [check it out](https://twitter.com/nekokat42/status/996079536646344705)!
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/imnotanironwall) / [tumblr](http://badgunter.tumblr.com/)


End file.
